A transgender man has been fined £200 and been ordered to pay £400 in compensation after he dipped his fake penis into a reveller’s pint glass during a night out in a pub, a court has heard.
Jesse Hawthorne, from Caerphilly, was asked to leave the Welsh bar after fellow drinkers took offence at his drunken prosthetic penis prank.
But Hawthorne, 30, flew into a rage and smashed a bottle by throwing it at a one-armed bandit machine instead, a court heard.
In 2015, Hawthorne became the first transgender person to be convicted of revenge porn after he shared a sexually explicit photograph of an ex on Facebook, and was also jailed in 2018 for a violent assault.
Jesse Hawthorne, 30, was fined for criminal damage and public order offences (Pictured at court at a previous hearing)
Hawthorne dipped his fake penis into a patron’s drink at the Cwtch bar in Caerphilly (pictured)
He was last year arrested for criminal damage over the bust up at the Cwtch bar in the historic town of Caerphilly, south Wales.
Prosecutor Miquelle Groves said: ‘The public house was relatively quiet but there were customers around.
‘He entered the seating area and exposed a prosthetic penis.
‘The defendant placed the false genitalia in somebody’s drink.
‘CCTV showed there was an element of distress caused to some customers and he was asked to leave the premises.
‘The defendant became very aggressive and he had a glass bottle which he threw towards the bandit completely smashing its screen to pieces.’
Handyman Hawthorne pleaded guilty to criminal damage and a public disorder offence in September last year.
Hawthorne was previously jailed for attacking an ex-girlfriend’s new partner in 2018 and blamed being given ‘too much testosterone’ when he transitioned.
Ed Mitchard, defending, told Newport Magistrates, said: ‘This was a drunken prank which resulted in him being asked to leave the premises.
‘Most people are laughing when it happened but there were some people who took offence.
‘The defendant was then pushed by members of staff.’
Hawthorne claimed to have been pushed by members of staff at the pub where the incident occurred
He was previously sent to prison for a violent assault on his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend
Mr Mitchard said Hawthorne ‘misuses alcohol’ and has ‘experienced trauma in his life’.
The court was told Hawthorne has worked as a handyman but was currently claiming benefits.
Hawthorne was fined £120 for causing criminal damage and £80 for the public order offence. He was also subject to a 12 month community order for another offence.
He was ordered to pay the pub £400 compensation as well as £85 towards prosecution costs and an £80 victim surcharge.
In 2015, Hawthorne became the first transgender person to be convicted of revenge porn after posting a sexually explicit photo of his ex-girlfriend online.
Hawthorne, who was 23 at the time, admitted disclosing private sexual photographs and film with intent to cause distress to the woman when he appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court, Gwent.
In 2018, he was jailed for two years and five months for attacking army veteran Ashley Cook.
He assaulted the victim with a brick and a broken beer bottle after turning up drunk at his ex-girlfriend’s house.
Hawthorne lashed out because could not accept former girlfriend Emma Dickenson’s new relationship with army veteran Ashley Cook.
At the time his defence barrister blamed an ‘inappropriate amount of testosterone at the time while he was transitioning’ for causing the raging hormones.
Sarah Walters, defending, said Hawthorne had been on too much testosterone during the attack as part of his transition from being a woman.
Miss Walters said Hawthorne’s issues with his biological gender had led to him abusing drink and drugs from a young age, and had stopped going to school because he was made to wear a girl’s uniform.
Her Honour Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said Hawthorne had experienced ‘difficulties’ relating to his gender, but said it could not excuse his behaviour.
The judge added: ‘I acknowledge the difficulties you’ve experienced in your life.
‘But that cannot excuse your actions that night. This was a very serious assault.’
